Somewhere Out There
by AngelWing1138
Summary: He didn't know why the two words haunted him...And he's about to find out. [Oneshot]


A/N: ...HAVE FUN READING. _(sigh)_

Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts II belongs to Square Enix.

* * *

It was amazing what two simple words could do to a person.

He didn't think their last parting words would affect him so much; how the other had said it, voice almost hollow and broken—strange to hear in the emotionless drawl that he had grown accustomed to over the year they had been 'together', if that's what you wanted to call it. _I would_ rang through his mind as he walked down the alleyways; faded to the back of his conscious as he ran from Nobodies and completely disappeared as he faced the silver haired friend of the one person that could really ever defeat him.

_I would_ were two simple, easy words to just spit out, without any meaning or purpose. 'Who would care if I got hurt?' _I would. _'Who would care if I died?' _I would. _Immediate responses from people that held you 'close'. A bond of friendship, even kinship—or perchance, in the rarest of cases, love. Though the young blonde teen had never held anyone 'close'; not unless you wanted to count that foolish pyro who followed him everywhere; that stupid redhead who fought with him so that he could let out pent-up emotion; that idiotic teen that held him as he beat against his chest, wanting to scream and cry and just _give up_.

So maybe he did hold someone close; but he never thought Axel would care about him. The older teen, with all his cockiness and arrogance and superiority, never seemed like he cared about anything other than himself. But when Roxas once shouted at him in one of their many heated arguments that he was a selfish bastard that needed to roll over and die already...Well, the hurt that went through those antifreeze green eyes of his hit him squarely in the chest; a spot tightening where a heart would've once beat in tune to his erratic breathing and harsh pounding in his head.

He sat on the cold ground, looking over to the side as the rain pelted down; hit his flesh, sending goose bumps down his spine and raising gooseflesh on his arms and neck, chilling him. His blonde hair was damp and in his eyes, obscuring his vision as he sat alone on the curb, watching dully as the cars rolled by.

All of these memories...These horrid, precious memories he recalled were all from a past life that was painful, and he wondered how it could've been him. He didn't understand how all of this could've once happened; he was an eighteen-year-old teen on the honour role and the Valedictorian of his year. He was graduating with top grades for crying out loud! How could he have lived a life like that? Where he was in an evil Organization, killed off creatures called 'Heartless' and attempted to get a heart? He had a heart!

He pressed his wide palm across his thin chest as he thought of this, feeling the rhythmic beating of the organ as it pumped blood through his body, keeping him alive and breathing. But maybe...Once a long time ago...He hadn't had a heart? There were those fables that Sora always read—Sora, his foolish half brother, had an obsession with old folktales and legends like this sort of thing—or maybe he was just plain crazy, letting those old stories create memories that hadn't really existed. Who the hell was _Axel_ anyhow? And why would he...Well...Why had he said 'I would' in the first place?

The blonde sighed, shaking his head as he stood up, shaking his head like a dog as water whipped out of his hair into the puddles on the street. He got up onto the sidewalk, flipping his collar to the cold so his neck would be slightly protected as he hunched his shoulders, hands shoved into his pockets; making his way home. Dark blue eyes stared at the wet concrete, his thoughts flowing mindlessly; his feet on autopilot. And because of his non-concentrating self, he ran smack-dab into someone who walked out of a bar, a cigarette hanging from their lips. Roxas' eyes widened and he fell towards the ground, only being caught by the person he bumped into grabbing his arm roughly, pulling him back up. Having lost his original balance, he stumbled into their chest, and one of their feet slid back as they kept balance, a hand on his shoulder to steady him. "Yo, kid, you alright?"

Roxas' eyes widened at the voice—a sarcastic, uncaring drawl with only the slightest hint of worry—before he looked up into a face he thought he'd only ever see in his dreams.

A pale face looked down at him; his chin sharp, cheekbones high and defined with black tattoos inked onto them forever. Green eyes were narrowed, with red ink tattooed in the corners creating a permanent curve there like some sort of Egyptian would have. His hair was brilliant red, naturally slicked back into multiple spikes; uneven, sharp strands splaying down to between his sharp shoulders. He was thin, with sudden hips that most males wouldn't have, and long legs; his arms equally as long and thin as the rest of him. His neck would be one described as 'swan-like', for it stretched longer than Roxas'. He wore a deep red turtle neck, black jeans and black boots, a black leather trench coat his cover from the pouring rain; much more useful than Roxas' own cloth spring jacket he wore stupidly. He was probably going to get sick now.

The man had removed his cigarette from his lips, holding it between two fingers on his left hand—his right hand still on his shoulder—and Roxas noted that he wore black leather gloves, and that he had a motorcycle helmet hanging off of his arm. "Kid? Come on, stay with me here; you can't have gotten _that_ dazed. You didn't even hit me that hard." He sighed, shaking his head before shaking his shoulder slightly. "Earth to blondie."

"I'm here, god," Roxas muttered, yanking his shoulder from his grip. "Don't nag, Axel." He froze, eyes wide at his sudden slip, and he looked over to see the man looking at him oddly, head cocked to the side, eyes narrowed in suspicion and confusion. "Uh..."

"How do you know my name?" The man—now dubbed Axel by default—questioned his voice tight and kept cool; probably holding back confused anger. "I've never seen you in my life." Roxas turned his face away from him, having never really given the man a good look at him, before he turned, attempting to walk off. "Hey! Don't try to walk off, brat!" Axel grabbed his shoulder, yanking him back, and Roxas tumbled again; this time Axel let him fall, and he fell harshly to the sidewalk, wincing as he did so. Axel quietly sauntered over to him, offering a hand to help him up, and Roxas took it automatically, being wrenched up to his feet; the hand suddenly grabbing his chin. "I like to look into people's faces as they lie...To...me..."

His eyes widened as Roxas' defiant, slightly flustered blue eyes glared into his green before he let go of his chin and took a step back, placing a hand to his head and shaking it unbelievingly before he looked at him again. "Would your name happen to be Roxas?" Axel asked, looking at him quietly; cigarette long forgotten, having fallen to the ground.

Roxas jerked his head in a nod, shoving his hands back into his pockets, shoulders hunching up again. "Yes. Now can I go?" He asked, looking at him through his wet bags and Axel ran a hand through his hair before looking at him. "What?"

"You're coming with me." He said simply, tossing his helmet to him. "Wear that."

"I'm not going anywhere with you! And even if I was, won't you need this?" Roxas asked, catching the helmet and walking after him as Axel started to walk away. The redhead looked back at him, grinning at him in a cocky smirk; Roxas' eyes narrowed at the distinctly familiar look, even though he refused to admit it had ever been true. He scowled, looking away. "Fine, I'm coming."

"Thought you'd come around." Axel said, coming up to the bar's parking lot to a black motorcycle that was parked, seat wet with the water dripping off of the leather. He got onto it, making room for Roxas to get on the back. "Hop on; put that on." He said, looking back as he watched Roxas look at the helmet, before securing it on his wet head, tightening the strap before he swung his leg over the bike, sitting behind him. He slid forward almost automatically to rest against Axel's back, and he thought he felt the redhead stiffen before he relaxed. "Wrap your arms around my waist." He said softly, and Roxas nodded, doing as he was instructed.

'_He still feels the same...' _He thought, before he scowled. Not that he _knew_ how Axel had once felt like; this was the first time he'd ever met the guy. Axel waited a moment until he made sure Roxas was secure behind him, before he twisted the handle of his bike and it roared to life before it turned to a gentle purr, and he kicked off, lifting his feet as his bike went off down the slippery roads, turning onto the street and going through the light; no one was driving this late.

Roxas looked at his back as they drove, before he sighed, resting his cheek against it; he thought he heard Axel hitch his breath, his back tensing before it relaxed again, and the blonde smiled a little. Well...The redhead was warmer than the weather outside; he might as well take advantage of it, right?

After a while, Axel slowed down until he made a full stop, the bike cutting out as Roxas let go of him, getting off after Axel slipped off. The blonde took Axel's helmet off, handing it to the redhead who took it quietly, and jerked his head in a notion that he should follow him. The blonde blinked, frowning a little, before he did so, looking around the area as he did. They were in the darker part of town, where most of the drug circles and slave trades were located; from selling marijuana to pornography. Why the redhead lived in this sort of area, the blonde would probably never know; unless Axel was bored enough to randomly tell him his reasoning. Maybe Axel was secretly an assassin and was sent to kill him? Maybe that's where he actually knew the face and name? And maybe he was Axel's next target?

...The little voice inside Roxas' head suddenly manifested into a solid chibi him and whacked him over the head with a large black key, telling him he was an idiot and to not think stupid things again just to try and comfort his muddled mind. "Please pay no attention to my shitty living space; it's the only place I can afford until I move back onto campus."

"Campus?"

"I'm entering my fourth year of university; psych major. You?"

"Graduating high school; top of my class, Valedictorian." He replied; it had become an automatic answer around people older than him that he knew. Like Zexion, a third year university student English major. He was like Roxas' older brother or cousin or something, helping Roxas through school and becoming proud in his own silent way when Roxas told him the news of being elected Valedictorian and getting top marks and everything. Of course Zexion would be proud, though; he had been on the Dean's list since he entered university.

"Well if that isn't impressive." Axel stated, smirking. "I seem to hang around all the smart people! Except Demyx; but Demyx is just...Demyx."

"How do you know Demyx?" Roxas asked, not even noticing that he had asked it. Axel blinked, looking over at him with a raised eyebrow.

"He's my roommate...How do _you_ know him?"

"...I know him through a friend."

"What friend?" Axel asked, pushing open the door to the apartment's front foyer.

"...Zexion."

"His boyfriend! Alright; you're the midget blonde he talks about all the time. Zexion's little brother?"

"Not...Really. His mom is considering adopting me, though, so I don't have to live with my stepfather anymore." He shrugged a shoulder, sighing a little.

Sora and Roxas lived with their older brother Cloud and their stepfather—a man Roxas would love to forget. Their mother—the only one they all had in common—had died a few years after Roxas had been born, and Roxas' father had died in a car accident that had killed him immediately. Cloud and Sora were blood brothers, and they had been living with their stepfather—the man their mother married after her first husband died—when Roxas was put into his care. They had been living together for four years now, and Roxas wanted out. When Zexion had told him his mother was thinking of going to court and asking for the rights to be in charge of him, Roxas had felt like a great weight had been lifted off his chest. Their stepfather was not a pleasant man, usually always drunk and stupid.

"I'm gonna take a random guess and say he's a drunk." Axel stated, letting Roxas into the apartment, going over to the stairs. "Mind if we walk? The elevator's broken again." He rolled his eyes, shaking his head before he noted Roxas' nod and smirked, walking up the flight of stairs. "You're lucky I live on the second floor..." He then paused, looking back at Roxas. "Am I right about stepdad?"

"Mm; he drinks." Roxas shrugged, walking behind him as Axel continued his trek up the stairs, nodding as he heard Roxas. They made it up to the second floor, and Axel walked to an apartment, a wreath on the door before he opened it, letting Roxas in. "This is where you live...?"

"Axel! You're home! _Finally_; I was wondering if you were gone to China or something."

"I wouldn't let you live on your own, Dem; if I did, you'd have Christmas lights up and somehow electrocute yourself because you would have plugged it in with a broken wire after having a bath." Demyx pouted as he came to the foyer, before his eyes landed on Roxas. "Roxas! What are you doing here?"

"...Ran into Axel." Roxas muttered, looking to the side. Axel smirked, slipping off his coat and boots, hanging up his coat on the hanger.

"And he means literally; look at him closely, and you'll see his pants are soaked." Roxas shot him a glare and Axel smirked, shrugging a little before the blonde sighed; the mullhawk boy walking over to Roxas and looking over him.

"If you don't get dried off quickly, you'll get sick, you know." Demyx said, smiling a little before taking his coat, draping it over the back of an armchair. Roxas smiled a little sheepishly, shrugging a shoulder before he followed the other blonde into the bathroom, leaving Axel to pull out another cigarette and light it, taking in a drag and blowing it out; clouding the room. "That stupid Axel, always smoking inside. I've told him a million times not to!" Roxas smiled a little at him, blinking in confusion when he started to lift his shirt up.

"What are you doing?"

"Getting you out of your wet clothes; duh." Demyx smiled, shaking his head. "I've been called a mother hen when I act like this. And that may be true, but at least my friends don't get sick." He then slipped the shirt off, throwing it into the tub. "Take off your pants, socks and boxers, too."

"What?!"

"I'm a male, it's nothing new!"

"You're a _homosexual_ male!"

"With a loving boyfriend who may become your brother by adoption. You are also a homosexual male are you not?"

"I like to think I'm undecided." Roxas mumbled, slipping off the rest of his clothes like he had been ordered to. Demyx snorted, rolling his eyes before tossing him a house robe, stepping away from him. "Where are you going now?"

"I'm going to rifle through Zexion's spare clothes; you guys are around the same size, so his stuff should fit you better than any of Axel's or mine." He smiled, looking at him. "Just stick around here; grab a towel and dry off if you wanna. I'm gonna ask Axel to make you some soup."

"I'm not sick, Demyx."

"Ah, but soup will help warm you up; you're cold." Roxas was about to ask how he knew about that when he remembered the blonde had just pulled off his shirt; most likely skin had made contact and Demyx had felt his frozen skin. He sighed, crossing his arms as he stood in the white bathroom, looking around it with curious blue eyes; blonde hair plastered to his forehead.

He heard the door creak open and looked up to see Axel poking his head inside, looking at him curiously. "Wow, he actually stripped you down." He grinned, stepping inside and looking at him, cocking his head to the side. "That's my robe, you know."

"He just threw one at me; sorry."

Axel shook his head, smirking as he took a drag of the cigarette Roxas finally noticed. "Think nothing of it, really. It's nothing. I don't really care if you wear it." He shrugged. "You're not cootie infested or anything."

"Cooties don't even EXIST." Roxas said, rolling his eyes. "How old are you, anyhow?"

"Well, fourth year university. How old would that make me?" Roxas frowned as Axel looked at him, grinning, before he sighed.

"22, maybe 23?"

"Bingo! I am 22 and something years old! Turning 23 this July." He ran his hand through his dried spikes, looking at him curiously. "And you're...How old?"

"Eighteen." Roxas stated, not forcing Axel to guess his age like the redhead had done for him. Axel nodded, turning to see Demyx walking back. "I better scat before Dem notices my smoking in here." He waved, walking away quickly. Demyx blinked, looking at Roxas who shrugged and he frowned.

"I had the door closed...Axel came in, right?" Demyx looked at him, and the blonde boy nodded to the older blonde. Demyx sighed, shaking his head before handing him a bundle of clothes. "Here you are. Your clothes for the rest of the night; the rain just got worse so you'll stay the night here. I'll take the couch and you can take my room if you want."

"I'm not forcing you out of your room. I'll just call my half brother and get him to pick me up..."

"Nonsense! It's crazy out there now! Raining like mad." He smirked a little, before turning to exit. "Get dressed; that soup'll be ready for ya."

"Thanks..."

* * *

_You can't turn your back on the Organization! You leave and they'll __**destroy**__ you! _

"_No one would miss me." _

_That's not true..._

_**I would**_.

Roxas blinked, shaking his head as he stared at himself in the bathroom mirror, taking in his appearance before he sighed and walked out to see Demyx watching TV, Axel reading a book. He looked to the table to see a bowl of steaming soup laid out with crackers and a spoon, and he sighed, padding over to it quietly in his bare feet, sitting down. Axel glanced up at him as he sat down and nodded to him, going back to his book; Demyx turned around, smiling at him. "How you feeling?"

"I'm not sick, Demyx." Roxas said, smiling a little. "I'm fine."

"The soup'll warm you up." Demyx said again, turning back to his program. Roxas sighed softly, eating the tomato soup quietly. After a few minutes he stood up, putting the bowl into the sink with his spoon and putting the crackers away after looking for the correct cupboard, before looking at the two older teens. Axel looked up at him again, raising an eyebrow.

"What?"

"You wanted me to come here. Why?" Roxas asked, crossing his arms. Axel sighed, snapping his book shut before he stood up, waltzing over to Roxas and draping an arm over his shoulders. "What are you doing?"

"Leading you to my office; Dem! We'll be in my room!"

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do..."

"What's that? Dance?" Demyx glared at him, turning up the volume and Axel laughed, dragging Roxas into the first door to the left to show a room with scorch marks on the walls from what seemed to be fire, a few figurines of phoenixes and other little knickknacks like that, and a laundry hamper filled with clothes. The bed was shoved into the corner with dark red and black sheets and a blanket folded at the end for him to spread out when he went to bed. "Welcome to my humble abode; make yourself comfortable on the beanbag chair. And be careful of the lava lamp; it's been on all day."

Roxas looked at him, before falling into the squishy black beanbag chair, looking at him as he sat on his bed, crossing his legs. They stared at each other for a long time before Axel puffed out a sigh, pulling out a cigarette. "Do you mind?" Roxas shook his head and Axel nodded, putting the white stick of death between his lips and lighting it, taking in a drag and letting it out slowly; the smoke surrounding him like a wreath.

"How many is that today?"

"My fourth," Axel looked at him, raising an eyebrow. "Why do you care?"

"Just wondering how close you are to developing cancer." Axel barked out a laugh, Roxas smirking a little before the redhead sighed, shaking his head. "Now why did you invite me here? Or...More like forced?"

"As soon as I saw your face I think something inside me snapped." Axel said, looking at him as he held his cigarette in his left hand between his middle and index fingers loosely, the arm slung over his knee. "I don't know what the hell was with me when I told you to come with me; it was almost automatic or something."

"Everything seems to be automatic lately..." Roxas muttered. Axel looked at him oddly, and the blonde just shook his head. "That doesn't answer why you knew my name, or why you dragged me here."

"How did you know my name?" Axel countered, looking at him with a raised eyebrow. "How did you know that my name was Axel?"

"...It's something I'd rather not talk about—"

"Dreams, right?" Axel interrupted, and Roxas looked up at him with wide eyes. "I knew it. Same here; I have dreams of this place where there's this thing called...Uhh..."

"Kingdom Hearts. And a group of creatures called Nobodies; they call it—"

"Organization XIII! Demyx was part of it too, as well as Zexion..." Axel frowned, looking to the side. "Okay, now I just realized how freaking INSANE we sound."

"The psych major just realized? That's kind of sad. How are you doing in your classes?"

"Oh shut you face." Axel smirked, before looking at him. "The thing is, I recognize you from these dreams about Organization XIII; I recognized Dem and Zexion from them, too, and my professor Xaldin." He crossed his arms. "Either we're all completely insane and need to see a doctor, or there's something going on here."

"I don't know if I can believe that." Roxas muttered, looking away. Axel eyed him for a moment, frowning.

"What's your half brother's name?"

"Which one?"

"...The one that can drive?"

"Cloud. The other one is closer to my age—we're a year apart."

"His name?"

"Sora. Why do you care suddenly?"

"...Because Sora was the Warrior of Light in my dreams. Did you never dream that?"

"...I dreamed that I was Sora's Nobody."

"Explains why you didn't know about the Warrior of Light business! Sora holds the other half of your memories."

"Wait a second." Roxas stood up, looking at him. "Are you telling me you actually _BELIEVE_ what these dreams are showing you? Because if you do, then I gotta say you're one crazy—" He placed his hand on the desk, accidentally on the lava lamp and hissed, pulling his hand away as the lava lamp shook, before it stood its ground. "Shit..."

"Dammit, I thought I told you to be careful about that." Axel stood up, walking over to him and grabbing his hand, looking at it. "...It's not bad; just put it under some cold water..." He traced a finger around the red welt quietly, eyes at half mast as he analyzed it. Roxas looked at him, blushing a deep red as he held his hand almost tenderly, before the redhead looked up at him. "What are you blushing about?"

"...Embarrassed." Roxas mumbled, looking away from him. Axel raised an eyebrow, shaking his head before he led the blonde back into the bathroom, turning on the cold water and putting his hand under it, rubbing his thumb along it gently. "...You can let go now, you know..."

"Maybe I don't want to." Axel said, looking up at him. His cigarette hung from his lips loosely, and Roxas reached up, taking it from his mouth before putting it in his own, taking in a drag. "What are you doing you crazy child?"

"I quit three years ago; I thought I'd have a drag. That alright with you?" Roxas asked, blowing out the smoke. It surrounded the two of them and Axel smirked a little.

"Didn't develop cancer?"

"Guess not." The redhead sighed, pulling his hand from under the tap before looking at it. "How's it look doc?"

"I'm not a doctor of medicine. I'm training to be a doctor for the mentally ill." He smirked, before looking at it again. "Just get a bandage and let it heal and you'll be fine. You're not right handed are you?"

"I'm ambidextrous; I can write with my left hand if I need to."

"Must be useful." Axel mumbled, taking his cigarette back from the blonde and holding it quietly. "Let's go get that bandage."

"Mm..." Roxas nodded, turning, before he paused. He turned to look at Axel who was still by the sink, before he sighed. "...You would?"

"...What?" Roxas smiled, before he shook his head.

"Never mind."

* * *

Roxas lay on the couch wide awake that night, thumb rubbing the gauze that Demyx had carefully wrapped around his hand when he had seen the burn from the lava lamp. He sighed softly, closing his eyes and turning onto his side, looking out the window at the bright moon shining outside through the clouds of the pouring rain. He frowned, eyes turning away from the sight; the scenery strangely nostalgic.

He heard a door creak open down the hall and sat up, wincing as he put pressure on his injured hand before he saw it was only Axel clad in black pajama pants walking out, yawning behind his hand. The redhead turned to look at him, raising an eyebrow curiously. "Can you not sleep kid?"

"Not yet." Roxas mumbled, lying back down and closing his eyes. "I'll just force myself to if I have to, though."

"I hear that can give you nightmares."

"Whoever told you that is full of it." Axel laughed while Roxas rolled his eyes before he buried his face into his pillow.

"Sweet dreams Roxas."

* * *

_Roxas, alright. Fight, fight, fight._

_You really don't remember. It's me, Axel. _

"_Axel?" _

_Talk about __**blank**__ with a capital B. Man oh man, even the __**Dusks**__ aren't gonna crack this one. _

"_Wait a sec. Tell me what's going on!" _

_This town is __**his**__ creation, right? Which means we don't have __time__ for a Q&A. You're coming with me, __**conscious or not**_

_Then you'll hear the story. _

"_What's going on!?" _

_**Number 13**__. Roxas. __The Keyblade__'s chosen one._

"_Okay fine! You asked for it!" _

His eyes snapped open and he gasped as he sat up, looking around the dark room. He looked over to see Axel sitting by the balcony door, a cigarette in his hands though not lit. He was looking at him carefully, a frown on his lips. "Bad dream, kiddo?" He asked, raising an eyebrow as he lounged in the chair, lighting the cigarette and placing it at his lips, inhaling. He blew out the smoke, the grey puff floating in the air before it floated outside slowly; the smell lingering.

Roxas ran his hands through his hair, looking at the redhead for a moment before he nodded. "Y-yeah..."

"Your cell phone has been ringing; woke me up about an hour ago." Axel pointed to the small electronic device on the coffee table by the couch. Roxas sighed, reaching over and flipping it opened, seeing he missed seven calls, all from Cloud. "Big brother is always watching?"

"I need to call my half brother." Axel stared at him for a moment, before Roxas sighed. "Could you get out?"

"You got it." He stood up, nodding before he walked onto the balcony, closing the glass door behind him. Roxas dialled the number he had missed, pressing send before he leaned back against the couch. After the second ring, someone answered.

'Roxas is that you?'

"Yes Cloud, it's me. I'm sorry I forgot to call. I went over to a friend's house and got stuck here because of the rain."

'Why were you out in the first place?!'

"I needed to clear my head. I'm eighteen Cloud; I don't need you to baby sit me anymore." He heard a tired sigh on the other end, and frowned, wondering what was up with him. "What?"

'I'm your brother, Roxas. I'm always going to worry...Especially since Zexion's mother got the legal documents.' There was a pause, letting Roxas take in the information; the blonde's eyes had widened. 'So we're barely going to see each other after you move in there. You know I'm moving out of state to university.'

"You're actually transferring?" Roxas muttered, shifting on his seat on the couch. He heard the door slide open and someone—Axel, duh—walk in, but he didn't pay any attention. "How come you didn't tell me?"

'I was going to tell you last night after the news that you're adoption was a success.' Cloud sighed, and Roxas could only imagine him running a hand down his face. 'You know, I think I'll actually miss you.'

"Even though we were never on the greatest terms with each other?"

'Even though.' Roxas smiled a little, sighing softly before he nodded and Cloud told him to come home to get his stuff around three, before they hung up. He then sighed, flipping his phone closed and tossing it carelessly onto the table, leaning his head back. "What was that about?"

"...Zexion's mom has legal rights over me now as my official guardian...And Cloud's moving out of state in transfer to a different university he's had his eyes on."

"Did you talk to Sora about your adoption?"

"...Most likely he's out with his friends Riku and Kairi." He looked over at Axel and the redhead looked suddenly guilty. "What's with you?"

"...I'm sorry for what I did to her..." He mumbled, quoting something and Roxas frowned, looking away from him. "Come on, you have to have had a dream about that!"

"No. But I've had a dream where you're about to fight me." Roxas snapped, before he groaned, stuffing his face into the pillow he had slept on. "I'm actually going insane..." He heard a sigh and then Axel getting up from his seat, walking over to him. He felt the couch sink on the edge by his stomach, before a hand was placed on his neck, rubbing it softly. "What are you...doing...?" Roxas asked confused, before he suddenly started to relax. He swore to himself later when he thought on this incident he felt Axel's smirk.

"Whenever you were stressing or freaking out over something, I'd always rub your neck like this. You'd always calm down after that." Roxas shifted his face so that he could see Axel, and his smirk had softened to a smile. "Bet no one knew about your soft spot."

"...I didn't tell anyone about it..." Roxas mumbled, eyes closed. "My mom...Used to rub it when I was stressed about school...She was the only one that ever knew about it. Though I have a feeling...Kairi knows too." Axel nodded, sliding his hand from his neck and down his spine, rubbing circles on his side above his waist. He gasped, eyes wide and Axel smirked. "What the..."

"It's a spot." Axel said, removing his hand and standing up. "I dreamt that it was a spot of yours. Guess I was right." He grinned, before he nodded to him. "Demyx is gonna wake up soon; it's almost noon. So you might want to get some breakfast."

"...Yeah."

* * *

Roxas was eating some waffles that Axel had made when he noticed the blonde had looked absolutely confused on what to do, when Demyx came crawling out of the hole that he called his room. He looked at the two, smiled sleepily and sat down on the chair, accepting some of the waffles Axel slid over to him and the maple syrup. "Mornin'."

"G'morning."

"Morning."

A silence fell over the three males, Roxas eating awkwardly while the older two just ate as if this happened every day. The door suddenly opened, breaking the silence, and Demyx looked over to see a tall older blonde man with a goatee walk in, fiddling with what seemed to be a poker chip in his hand. He was dressed in casual dress clothes, and he had a dangling earring in his left ear, with a few smaller loops on the cartilage. His shirt was a deep blue, and he wore black dress slacks, dress shoes on his feet. "Axel, Demyx...New person." The man blinked dark blue eyes, looking at Roxas closely, and Roxas squirmed slightly at the scrutiny. "...Roxas?" His eyes widened, and he was about to ask how the hell he knew his name when Demyx stood up, smiling.

"Luxord! What're you doing here?" He asked, and the name seemed to click in the back of Roxas' head as he took a closer look at the man. His eyes narrowed before they widened, and he turned away as soon as Luxord looked over at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Came over to see you guys; you know, just because the new semester hasn't started, doesn't mean you can just call me 'Luxord'. I'm still your professor."

"Sorry, but we have a policy of not calling our professors their last names when they're so close in age." Axel said, smirking. "Mr 27-year-old." He stood up, taking his and Roxas' plate, putting them in the sink before looking at him. "Why'd you come over to see us? Trying to prove we're delinquents again?"

"I've decided to give up on that; I _could_ call you cradle robbers, though..." He pointed to Roxas, and the blonde narrowed his eyes, standing up. "How old is he anyhow?"

"I'm eighteen and going into university next year. So they aren't cradle robbers and I'm not even dating them." He scowled, turning away from him as he went down the hall to get his clothes from the bathroom. He heard a soft laugh, and turned to look at Luxord who was grinning at him. "The hell are you looking at, Gambler?" Axel and Demyx looked at Roxas oddly then, Luxord stiffening as Roxas finally realized what he just said. He turned away from him, eyes wide, before he walked the rest of the way into the bathroom, slamming the door shut.

Luxord blinked rapidly, looking over at Axel and Demyx then. "...Does he have the dreams too...?"

"...Yeah." Axel muttered, looking to the side. "He hasn't...'remembered' everything yet."

"So that means he doesn't know about—"

"No. He doesn't." Axel sighed, before walking after him. "I'll go check to make sure he isn't drowning himself in the tub."

"...The tub's on?" Demyx blinked, before he heard the water running. "Huh." He then sighed, looking over at Luxord. "...So, anything new?" Luxord blinked, looking at him oddly before he shrugged.

"Not really..."

Meanwhile, Axel stopped at the door to the bathroom, listening as the bath was shut off before someone slipped inside carefully. He sighed, opening the door a little and peeking in, seeing steam everywhere before he spotted a head of blonde. "Hey there." He grinned as he heard Roxas slip, water splashing before he stepped inside, seeing Roxas looking over at him, curled up in a ball, eyes wide. "You look kind of scared."

"You scared the shit outta me!" He exclaimed, placing a hand on his chest, watching as Axel laughed, closing the door. "Would you mind leaving so much?"

"We're both males here, Roxas; nothing's new. Unless you're...Ashamed?"

"Shut up, you pervert." Roxas mumbled, slowly uncurling from his ball, lying out in the tub again. "What do you want?"

"Just here to make sure you don't accidentally drown." Axel stated, shrugging as he flicked the top of the toilet down, sitting on it and crossing his legs. He looked at him for a moment, before turning away, eyes closed. "So why'd you call Luxord Gambler?"

"...Gambler of Fate." Roxas mumbled, looking to the side. "...That's what he was called...In my dreams once."

"Memories." Axel corrected, grinning. "I bet you anything they're actually memories."

"But why the hell would I have memories of a life I've never even had before?"

"Because you did have this life before. We all did; Luxord already knew your name once he got a good look at your face. Demyx once told me the first time he met you he wanted to cry out 'Roxas you're finally back!' Zexion stated that the one reason he's become so close to you is because you two were close when we were all Nobodies."

"Then we're all psychotic."

"How are we all having the same dreams? 'Roxas, alright. Fight, fight, fight.' Recognize that?" Roxas looked away from him, sinking deeper into the water. "No attempting to drown yourself."

"I'm not attempting to drown myself." Roxas mumbled, before he sighed. "And yeah, I know that phrase..." Axel nodded, turning to look at him before his eyes widened slightly and he looked away from him; the faintest hint of red on his cheeks. Roxas looked over at him, raising an eyebrow before he sighed. "What's wrong with you? The steam getting to you or something?"

"No..." Axel sighed, closing his eyes again. "It's nothing." He then cracked open his eyes, looking over at him. "What was my name Roxas?" He asked, smirking a little. "If you know Luxord's, then what's mine?"

"...Axel, get out." He mumbled, looking to the side. Axel frowned, looking at him before he stood up and nodded. "Thank you..."

"So you really don't remember me." He mumbled, and Roxas' eyes widened, turning to look at him just as he walked out. He blinked, staring at the door for a long time before he groaned, and ducked his head under the water, eyes screwed shut.

'_The hell is wrong with me?'

* * *

_Demyx hugged Roxas as he said he was going to go home and spend some time with his half brothers before he moved in with Zexion's family before he followed Axel down the stairs back out into the parking lot, walking over to his motorcycle. He took the helmet that Axel silently gave him, before the redhead wiped the seat dry before they both sat on it, Roxas wrapping his arms around Axel's waist as he was once again instructed. "Alright, just tell me the address and I'll get you there; I know this town like the back of my hand."

"2268 on the corner of Kingdom and Castle."

"...That's really weird." Axel mumbled, shaking his head while Roxas rolled his eyes, smiling a little; he had to admit it was weird, especially for the dreams that he was having recently and since he had turned fifteen. "Oh well; I guess it was destiny."

"Like Destiny Islands?"

"Where's that?"

"An island Sora's dreamt about; he told me about it once since Sora's really open like that." Axel nodded and Roxas sighed, closing his eyes as they drove down the street, stopping at the red light since there were people on the roads that day. He frowned a little, eyes lowering to the ground before he looked at Axel's back. "Why did you say that earlier?"

"...What are you talking about Roxas?" Axel asked, looking back at him slightly before looking back at the road. "I didn't say anything to you earlier."

"Yes you did! While we were in the bathroom—" He cut himself off as he saw the slightest of smirks on Axel's lips and he sighed softly. "Fine, you won't explain it." He mumbled, closing his eyes as he felt them turn; his stomach twisting as they leaned to the side before they sped up. They rode in silence for about ten minutes, once in a while Axel mumbling street names under his breath as he made his way around the maze that was their city. Finally, he rolled into a neighbourhood that was decorated with large trees everywhere, creating cooling shade on the road as Axel drove down it, looking at addresses before he rolled into one quaint looking house. Axel stopped, the motorbike cutting off as Roxas took off the helmet, handing it to him as he got off. "Thanks for the ride, Axel." He mumbled, nodding before he started to walk to the front door. The redhead caught his wrist, pulling him back before he brushed his lips over the blonde's, looking at him with a smirk; Roxas' eyes wide, a blush spreading across his cheeks.

"See you later, Rox." He gave him a two finger salute, pulling on his helmet before he ignited his bike again and backed out of the driveway, driving down the road before Roxas could say anything.

His eyes were wide as Sora came rushing out of the house, wrapping his arms around him and hugging him tightly, Cloud smiling a little from the doorway before he let his half brother drag him inside the house where Kairi and Riku greeted him, Kairi hugging him and Riku nodded to him, smirking a little. Roxas and Riku had never really gotten along well, just bearing with each other for Sora's sake. Finally, Roxas seemed to come out of his trance and he started to listen to what Sora was talking about, looking confused and making everyone around him laugh at his confusion, him pouting and crossing his arms.

The hours passed by pleasantly, Roxas packing a duffel bag filled with his clothes while Sora picked out little trinkets and knickknacks he wanted his half brother to keep; a necklace with an 'X' as the pendent that Roxas had gotten for his 16th birthday, a pair of key chains in the shape of two keys; one the black key that the chibi him had abused his conscious' head with the other day, the other a white key with hints of the rainbow in it; he also asked him to keep a picture of the three siblings when they had all been dragged together in Disney Land to take a picture with Mickey Mouse. Roxas looked ready to kill him in his own silent, moody way, Cloud had his arms crossed but he was looking at his brothers with fondness in his eyes, and Sora was the only one who had wrapped an arm around the giant Mickey, holding his free hand out in a peace sign as he held a big smile—smiling for them all he told them when they had gotten the picture back at the end of their park day.

Roxas sighed, putting in the last of his possessions that he decided to keep, looking at the photo sitting on top of his gaming system and his video games and photo album. He then smiled a little, zipping up his duffel bag closed and slinging it over his shoulder. He walked out into the front foyer to see that Kairi and Riku had gone home, Sora and Cloud the only two to see him off; their father was out of town for a business meeting someplace, though the boys didn't really care where. "Well...I guess this is goodbye." Roxas said, looking at them. Cloud nodded a little and the younger blonde placed his bag carefully onto the floor, walking over to Cloud and for the first time in his life, he wrapped his older half brother in a hug. "You know...Even though I think we would've killed each other at some point...I'm glad you're my brother."

"Aren't I only your half brother?"

"...Not so much anymore." Cloud smirked a little, wrapping an arm around his little brother and hugging him, before Roxas let go and stepped back. "You have my e-mail."

"You gave it to me earlier; I'll e-mail you at least once a month."

"It's all I ask." He then turned to look at Sora and the brunette enveloped him in a tight hug, holding him tightly as he buried his face in his neck. "I'll miss you too, Sora..." Roxas said, wrapping his arms around him lightly and patting his back. "But I like the thought of breathing." Sora laughed then, pulling back a little and wiping at his cheeks. "Come on, I'm only going to live on the other side of town."

"Exactly; I don't know how to drive!" He frowned for a moment before smiling again. "Call me once a week?"

"Every Saturday." Roxas said, smiling. "We already agreed on that, remember? And I'll call holidays, too. I'm sure I'll be able to come down to your birthday."

"Kay." Sora smiled, before he sighed softly. "Even though you're a year younger than me...You were like my twin, Roxas. I held you very close and you always knew what was up with me. With you moving out, it's like I'm missing a part of me."

"But I'll never be too far away." Roxas shook his head, flicking the brunette's head. "You're my brother, Sora. I'm not going to cut off communication with you." He then sighed, stepping back and picking up his bag as he heard a car horn. "That'd be Zexion. I'll see you guys later! Cloud, send me an e-mail when you get into the college, and I'll call you in four days Sora." He then walked to the door, but paused at it, hand on the handle. He turned around, looking at his two half brothers as they watched him.

"...You know I love you guys, right?" Sora smiled and Cloud looked at him with a tiny smile on his lips.

"Just waiting for you to say it."

* * *

Zexion looked over at Roxas as he put his bag into the back seat of his car, before slipping into the front, closing the door and putting on his seatbelt. "Ready?" The silver haired male asked, looking over at the blonde with dark blue eyes. Roxas nodded, looking at the house he had spent the past four years in before the car backed out of the driveway and they made their way out of the neighbourhood out into the road in downtown, stopping at the red light. "So, glad to be out of there?" The 20-year-old asked, looking at him briefly before looking at the road.

"I'm glad to get away from my stepdad...But I am going to miss Sora and Cloud." Zexion nodded in understanding, moving when the light turned. "How's your summer going?"

"Okay so far; I've finished all of my summer homework that my professors gave me. I told a few of them about you; they're hoping you come to the university." He looked over at him. "Have you gotten accepted anywhere yet?"

"Not yet. I asked Sora to send any letters to my new address if I don't get it by e-mail. Though I'm hoping I get to the one you're at." Zexion nodded, looking at the road again. Roxas sighed. "Did Demyx tell you I spent the night at his apartment?"

"Mm; as Axel's guest." Zexion raised an eyebrow in question, glancing at him again. "How do you know Axel, exactly?"

"I had just met him that night; I walked into him. He recognized me from some dreams of his..."

"The dreams." Zexion mumbled, frowning and looking forward. "And do you have these dreams, Roxas?"

"Mm...I do." He sighed, looking at him. "I'm going to take a wild guess, and say you do too. As does Demyx and that guy Luxord that was supposedly their professor."

"He's more my professor than theirs; he's a professor of my Advanced Writing course." Roxas nodded and Zexion pulled into a McDonald's drive through, looking at him. "You want anything?"

"...This was sudden."

"It's near dinner; I'm supposed to pick up some McDonald's for everyone. Do you want anything, Roxas?" Zexion looked over at him. "You are basically family now."

"...No thanks." Roxas said, smiling a little. "I'm not hungry."

* * *

The next day, Roxas was walking downtown with Zexion and his friend Lexeaus—a tall, burly man who had stared at him quietly for a moment before looking away. Roxas felt a little odd being around the larger man, having a feeling that once before, in a memory locked away; he had been one of the ones that had helped him grow strong. The blonde sighed, shaking his head as they entered a library, and his eyes widened as he caught sight of Axel sitting in front of the fireplace, reading a book as he leaned against the hearth. Zexion looked at him oddly, turning to see Axel before he sighed, smiling a little and nudging him. "Go talk to him."

"Are you sure?" Roxas asked, looking over at him as Zexion nodded, indicating to Lexeaus as he walked to a guy behind the counter of the library. He then pointed out Demyx who was looking through music books and Roxas smiled nodding before he left his stepbrother to go over to Axel. He grabbed a book on his way, looking at it and noting it was one he had already read before he sat down in front of Axel, opening the book and started to read it. He heard Axel sigh, and close his book, grumbling something.

"Do you _mind_ sitting somewhere else?" He asked, and Roxas glanced up to see he hadn't looked up to see who it was.

"Do you mind if I sit here?" Roxas asked in return and Axel looked up, eyes wide as he saw Roxas sitting there, smirking at him. He laughed, leaning back against the hearth and looked at him in interest. "Well, do you?"

"Nah; company's better than I thought it'd be." He said, waving a hand to the side. Roxas nodded, going back to his book. For a few minutes they sat in silence, but Roxas had the funny feeling that Axel was staring at him. Glancing up and raising an eyebrow, he looked at him curiously as he caught the redhead's eyes. "So what are you doing here?"

"Zexion and his friend Lexeaus invited me to come downtown with them. We turned here for a bit." He shrugged a shoulder carelessly. "Zexion's over with Demyx by the music."

"Is he?" Axel looked over, smirking as he saw the two talking quietly, Zexion seemingly asking him something and Demyx reaching around him to grab something, pressing his chest on his back. "Flirt, the both of them are _flirts_..." He said with a grin. He then looked over at Roxas, raising an eyebrow. "You're not reading that, are you?"

"...Not really. I've already read it." The blonde closed the book, closing his eyes. "Good book if you want to read it."

"Nah, I can't lend out books. I burned one once by accident; Vexen's had it for me since." He sighed, shaking his head. "Foolish old man. Why won't he just accept the fact it was an _innocent accident_." He said this loud enough for Vexen to hear, and the blonde that Lexeaus was talking to looked up with narrowed green eyes, glaring at him, and Axel smirked triumphantly in return. Roxas turned to see who he was talking about, briefly catching the eye of the older man, before turning away from him, frowning. "...Do you recognize him?"

"No." Roxas mumbled, putting the book to the side. "I don't recognize him. I don't recognize Lexeaus and I don't recognize him. So I guess your theory on us having a past life connected is cock-and-bull—"

"Not really." Axel said, smirking at him. "Those memories are still in the back of your head." He then looked at him, smirking. "Mr Chilly Academic over there recognized you as soon as he saw you, though; he keeps glancing at you oddly."

"Great; I feel like _Harry Potter_©." Axel laughed, shaking his head and the two fell into a debate about the famous series; Roxas didn't enjoy it because he found it a little too ridiculous for him, while Axel enjoyed it immensely, because he likes the British humour and the Weasely twins. They spent the rest of Roxas' visit talking about different books when Zexion told Roxas that they were heading home for dinner. Roxas bid Axel a 'see ya later' before he had walked out.

Axel watched them through the window, looking over at Demyx as he came to sit next to him before he smirked. "He's coming along fine."

"Says the psych major. Is he a patient of yours now or something?"

"Nah...Just a long overdue love interest." He stood, shouldering his backpack on the floor and left, not waiting for Demyx as he grabbed the books he had borrowed, chasing after him.

Roxas stared at his food for a moment before he sighed, stabbing his fork into the baked potato and cutting it in half, separating the two halves before mashing them with his fork. Zexion sat next to him, eating his green beans quietly and watching him curiously as his new stepbrother seemed to be brooding. "Is something the matter Roxas?" Zexion asked softly, putting down his fork and reaching for his glass, sipping it.

Zexion's family was a large one, with six siblings outside of Zexion, most of them girls. Zexion's mother was a tired looking, though kind woman with Zexion's dark blue eyes, and his father was a taller, mysterious man who didn't speak much with his silver hair. Though it seemed that Zexion was nothing like either of his parents, his siblings were almost duplicates of one of them or both of them mashed together to make the child sitting at the table eating happily Zexion's cooking. When Roxas had joined the family, they had all taken him in kindly; though Zexion's father still seemed hesitant to accept him.

"Nothing is wrong." Roxas mumbled softly, closing his eyes. "I've just...Had a few dreams is all."

"About?" Zexion turned to look at him, raising an eyebrow curiously and Roxas looked at him oddly before shrugging his shoulders carelessly. Zexion continued to look at him, nudging his arm a little to speed up his answer and Roxas seemed to shake himself out of his reverie before looking back at his meal.

"...A man called the Silent Hero standing behind me with a man named the Chilly Academic and the Cloaked Schemer...Staring down at me as I stood in an overgrown black coat looking out of place." Zexion nodded, turning back to his food when he paused, since Roxas didn't seem to be finished. "...Another one was a little stranger..."

"Oh?"

"...The feeling of a hand holding mine securely, while another hand pressed its palm on my chest, as if trying to feel for something...That wasn't there. And a sigh of frustration when they couldn't find it." Zexion looked at him for a while before he nodded again, taking a bite of his own potato.

"You should ask Axel about some of these dreams. So far, he's the only one who's seen all of his."

"_All_ of them? There's a limit?"

"It depends on the lifespan of the Nobody you're residing in." Zexion said softly—his mother was trying to shush a crying girl near her because her brother had stolen the doll she had been holding and stuffed it into his food—looking at him with some concern. "Surely you must believe this was all once past lives like the rest of us?"

"How can I believe it when I think I'm going nuts whenever I begin to? It's all too unbelievable if you hadn't noticed. People lacking hearts?"

"In a world outside of ours, it can be completely possible." Zexion stated, cutting some of his pork chop and chewing it thoughtfully, before swallowed and looking at him. "Surely you believe in worlds outside of our own? I see you have a few books on the theory of parallel universes."

"It's for school." Roxas mumbled. Zexion's eyebrows rose slightly.

"I highly doubt that, seeing as you're in summer, there's one month left before the new semester starts, and you're major is in mythology and English like mine is." He laced his fingers together, seeing as he was done his dinner, watching as Roxas ate his quietly, refusing to look at him. "When are you going to tell Axel?"

"...When I see him next."

The blond hadn't seen the redhead since their run-in at the library, and that had been two weeks now. He hadn't seen him at the bar he frequented; hadn't seen him in the coffee shop that Demyx and he went to sometimes; hadn't even seen him in the library where he thought he might've hung around again. It was like he had disappeared off the face of the planet, but Roxas wasn't going to go to his apartment just to tell him about a bunch of insane dreams that seemed to connect with a lot of different people.

Zexion sighed and nodded, collecting his plate and Roxas' once the blonde pushed his away, his food half eaten before looking at him quietly. "There is someone I think you should meet."

"And who's that?"

"You'll know when you meet them, won't you?" A flit of a smile seemed to flutter over Zexion's lips before he turned and left him quietly to go into the kitchen, talking for a moment to his father before disappearing. Roxas sat there for a moment, ignoring the chaos around him before he stood as well and walked upstairs to his room that he shared with Zexion, flopping down face-first into his bed and sighing in exhaustion.

Things were so complicated now...All thanks to that bloody redhead...

* * *

Zexion and Roxas set out the next day on a walk to a neighbourhood at the edge of town, towards where the wildlife grew. Roxas had never been in this area, and as he looked around he saw flowers, trees and birds he had never laid eyes on before; smiling all the while. Zexion didn't seem to notice, but the blonde supposed this was because Zexion had lived here all his life, and he knew someone in this area. The older male glanced at Roxas as he looked up at the surprisingly clean, clear sky above them and smiled a little. "It's a fairly quiet place." He said. "Though the two you are going to meet today make it a little louder than one would think."

"Two people? I thought you only wanted me to meet 'someone'. That usually means one person, Zexion, or did you fail that in English studies in the first grade?" Zexion smirked a little, shaking his head and looking at him quietly. "Well it's true."

"This is true. But if I said you were going to meet more than one person, would you have come with me?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. "You don't like associating with a lot of people. I noticed this when you don't really interact with the rest of your new stepfamily."

"Sorry about that." Roxas mumbled. "I don't do well with a lot of people."

"Well, there are only two you will meet today. A girl and her older brother." Zexion looked at him quietly. "You'll recognize them most likely, but if not you'll figure out soon enough who they are." Roxas stared at him and Zexion only shook his head, coming up to a quiet cottage by a lake, knocking thrice on the brass knocker the shape of a rose. There were two pairs of running feet, and Roxas heard shouting as the two people neared the door before the door was yanked open to reveal a pink haired boy who was around Axel's height, if not an inch taller, with dark blue eyes. He looked almost feminine, but he was attractive all the same with a strong build, and he flicked back long hair as his eyes landed on Zexion and he smiled, before they landed on Roxas, and they widened.

The girl next to him was far shorter, only a few inches taller than Roxas, and he was a short guy. Her hair was blonde and seemingly slicked back, the strands falling to the back of her neck. Two longer pieces of hair though seemed to defy gravity and looked like a pair of antenna. Her eyes were green/blue, and she seemed to have a face that was meant for smirking, while her older brother seemed to be the type to smile coyly. She looked at Zexion, squealed and glomped him, before looking at Roxas from her position of clinging to the poor male.

"Zexy! Who's the shrimp?" She asked, and she had a high pitched voice, almost as if she could scream and only dogs would hear it. Zexion removed her from him, shoving her back into her brother's chest, where he caught her hands on her shoulders as he continued to look at Roxas with a contemplating gaze. "That wasn't very nice to do to a lady you know."

"Larxene you are anything but a lady." Her brother finally spoke, and he had a surprisingly deep, smooth voice; one that sent shivers down Roxas' spine. "And look at him carefully; I'm sure you'll recognize him after a moment." He then smiled to Roxas, nodding to him in greeting. "My name is Marluxia. And this is my annoying sister Larxene." He removed a hand from restraining her, holding it out to Roxas. The blonde took it, and saw how large his hand was against his. For a man that looked like a woman, he also had a rather strong grip.

"Roxas," he introduced himself, shaking his hand once before letting go. Larxene was looking at him carefully, still being held back by her brother before her eyes widened in realization.

"I do know him!"

"Slow one." Marluxia muttered, rolling his eyes, before turning to look at Zexion. "Zexion, why did you bring him?"

"...He's the last one and I'm trying to get him to remember." He said simply and Marluxia nodded while Larxene continued to stare at him with slightly narrowed eyes. "Are we allowed to come in Marluxia?"

"Yeah." The two stepped back and Zexion stepped inside, indicating for Roxas to follow. He did so after a moment's hesitation, and was immediately pounced upon by the seemingly rambunctious blonde, looking at him closely. "Larxene get off of him!"

"I'm taking a good look at him." She said, looking at him closely. "Roxas...Key of Destiny?" Roxas looked at her oddly and she let go, smirking. "The Savage Nymph at your service. And my brother is the Graceful Assassin. And before you ask, yes pink is his natural hair colour. He's just flamboyant and I think he's gay."

"Very funny Larxene."

"You know it's true!"

"_Everything I do  
__I do it for you_"

"STOP WITH THE PUNS YOU STRANGE MAN!"

Roxas laughed softly as Zexion smiled, shaking his head before he looked down at Roxas. "Glad you met them?"

"...Yeah."

* * *

Roxas walked into the music store to see Demyx sitting behind the counter, looking bored and reading a magazine. Smiling, the blonde walked over to him, leaning against the counter. He cleared his throat, and Demyx sighed, putting down his magazine and looking up, only to look pleasantly surprised. "Hey! Roxas! What are you doing here?"

"Picking up a QUEEN CD for Zexion." Roxas shrugged a shoulder, looking at Demyx curiously. "This is where you work?" Demyx nodded and Roxas nodded back, looking around before he spotted a redhead standing at the back, looking at some rock music. "And is that Axel back there?" Demyx smirked, nodding again as he watched Roxas look at Axel quietly, before the blonde sighed and shook his head, looking over towards the alphabetical CDs. "I should get that CD..."

"Yeah you should." He said, pointing over to where the CD would be; right near Axel. "Go talk to Axel to, eh? Zexion told me you got some stuff to ask him."

"...Did he now?" Roxas asked, sighing as he thought of Zexion talking to Demyx on the phone the other night, muttering quietly as he walked by the doorway. "...Fine, I'll go talk to him. I'll be right back, though."

"Mhm." Demyx smiled happily, waving him off as he walked towards Axel, looking at the names of the artists before he found Queen right next to Axel. He flicked through the CDs, finding the one Zexion had requested for him, sick in his bed, before he glanced at Axel who was still looking at his own CD, mumbling what seemed to be the titles under his breath.

"...Axel?"

The redhead glanced up, caught Roxas' eye and smiled at him, leaning back against the case of CDs. "Hey there; haven't seen you around." He said, looking at him curiously. "Been up to much?" Roxas shook his head, and Axel nodded, looking to the side, before looking at him. "So anything you want to ask me?"

"Does everyone know I need to ask you something?" Roxas mumbled, which made Axel laugh lightly before the blonde sighed. "Yeah, I need to talk to you about these dreams I've been having...Since supposedly you've had them all, right?"

"Well, most of them. Xemnas, the dean, has had all of them. But you don't need to concern yourself with the defeat of the Nobodies. That's for Sora, not you." Roxas looked at him oddly, before he nodded a little and shifted to listen to him. "Who have you met so far, first of all? You live with Zexion, you know Dem, Luxord and myself...Sora, Riku and Kairi...Vexen and Lexeaus..."

"I met Marluxia and Larxene." Roxas said, looking at him quietly. Axel looked at him in surprise, before he nodded. "...So do I need to meet anyone else?"

"You haven't met everyone. You'll be introduced to I, II and III when the semester starts, though. Especially if you're taking Mythology and some kind of Science."

"I'm taking chem." Axel nodded, smirking a little before he looked at the CD in his hands. "It's for Zexion." He nodded again, looking like he understood before he looked over to the side. The two of them stood in silence for a minute, before Roxas finally sighed.

"...I had a really weird dream a week ago..." Roxas mumbled, looking down at the floor as he spoke of it. He felt Axel's curious gaze on him, and the blonde sighed. "Someone...holding my hand tenderly, the other hand spread against my chest trying to feel for something that wasn't there...And then the sigh of frustration when they couldn't find it. Finally...lips pressed against my neck, and the sigh as they didn't feel something there either..." He looked up at Axel to see him look at him carefully, his eyes strangely blank. He looked around the rest of the store while Roxas stared at him curiously, before he grabbed his wrist and dragged him into the one person bathroom. Roxas looked at him with a slight flush as he closed the door behind him, before pinning Roxas to it, running a hand up his chest under his shirt and pressing it against the place where his heart lay beating, his other hand being held tenderly...Lovingly in his larger hand. He then leaned forward, pressed his lips against his pulse, and closed his eyes. Roxas stood still for a moment, confused, before his eyes widened as he finally realized he felt familiar lips...And the familiar hold of his hands...

"...That was you?" He whispered and Axel mouthed the word 'yes' against his neck. The redhead then pulled back, letting go of him and slipping his hand away from under his shirt, crossing his arms quietly. "...What kind of relationship did we have?"

"You'll have to see that for yourself." Axel said, looking out the bathroom door before smiling and nodding. "See you later, then." He walked out of the door before Roxas could reply, and the blonde sighed, closing his eyes and shaking his head a bit, sliding down the door before looking at the CD in his hands, flipping it to look at the titles.

"Things got...Complicated..."

* * *

School was starting and Roxas had been accepted in the same university as Zexion, Axel, Demyx and what seemed like the rest of their friends, as well as Sora, Riku and Kairi. He was going through some of the text books he had had to get, reading through a book on mythology when Zexion entered the room accompanied by Demyx who was holding his guitar on his back. He glanced up, smiling briefly to Demyx before going back to his book, reading a Greek legend that had interested him.

"What'cha readin'?" The taller boy asked, plopping down on the bed next to Roxas and looking at the title. "Ooh, Apollo's story, eh? Interested in the moon then?"

"It's been a...fascination of mine for a bit." Roxas said, closing the book carefully and looking at him. "How do you know of Apollo's story?"

"I took Mythology when I first went to university. Then I decided I was more of a musical man than a historical legend man and switched over to Advanced Music and Theory." He shrugged a shoulder smirking a little. "It's how I met Zexion, my first year. He was in his first year as well, so...We met in one of the professors' lectures. He was in the back row and I was late, so I moved to the back to stay out of sight. I asked him what I had missed, and he called me an idiot before passing me his notes." He smiled, scratching the back of his head as Zexion shook his head quietly, sitting at his computer. "So, excited about university? Big step from high school."

"I'm sure I'll be fine." Roxas stated, smiling a little to Demyx before putting his text away, rifling through some of the things he had just gotten for school, like his portable wireless laptop or the notebook he had gotten or the palm pilot and other electronic toys to keep him in order and scheduled so he didn't murder himself his first week with homework and projects and papers to sign. "...How's Axel?"

"Axel's been fine. Quieter than normal, and he keeps asking me how _you_ are, since I see you a lot surprisingly. He's been frequenting a new bar on our side of town with the shady folk. I've told him a million times not to go there, and I even said you wouldn't like it if he went there. He didn't go that day." Roxas blushed a little and Demyx's grin softened to a smile as he placed a hand on Roxas' shoulder, squeezing it a little. "I think he began liking your company, for the short amount of time he had it."

"...Like something he had lost that he finally found, only to slip from his grasp again." He mumbled, looking at his lap with his hands before they fisted and he looked up at him. "What's Axel's cell number?"

"Huh? Oh, it's...Uh..." Demyx paused for a minute, taking out his own cell and flipping it open, looking through his contacts. "624-518-9713." Roxas pushed the numbers into his own phone as Demyx read the number aloud before he flipped the phone shut, nodding his silent thanks. Demyx smiled, putting his phone back into his pocket before looking at him strangely. "Why do you want to know?"

"Just in case I feel the urge to call him." He said, smirking. Demyx nodded, lying down on the bed as silence reigned, only with the exception of Zexion's quick typing on his side of the room. Roxas felt a poke in his back suddenly, and turned to see Demyx staring at him curiously, looking at him carefully. "What's up?"

"Any new dreams?"

"Huh? Oh...Uhh...The faded image of a man named Superior and more...Moments, between the Axel in my dreams and myself." He blushed as he said this, and Zexion turned to see him, both older males smiling endearingly before Demyx sat up, ruffling his hair.

"What _kind_ of moments?"

"Private ones." Roxas mumbled. Demyx pouted.

"Even this Roxas won't tell me! Man! Why can't I ever know?"

"Read his journal if your so deathly curious." Zexion stated, pointing to a brown leather bound book. "Be warned, though; Roxas has been known to bite." He shook his arm so that a sleeve fell to reveal teeth marks. "Hard."

"He tried to read your journal?"

"For the sake of my sanity, I guess." Roxas shrugged as Zexion readjusted his shirt and went back to writing a paper he should've written weeks ago. "Don't know how knowing my secrets would do that, though."

"To trust an inanimate object with confessions of the soul is unhealthy and unsociable. Axel would say you're on the verge of sociopathy because you don't integrate with people very well except for Demyx and myself. You're surprisingly intelligent for a young man like yourself, yet you have silent spaces and fits of anger towards those who try to prove you wrong. The other day you told me a theory, and I said that it couldn't work because an element was missing. You threw your mechanical pencil to the back of my neck and left, slamming the front door and running down the sidewalk when I looked out to see where you were going." He paused in his typing, looking back at him with a raised eyebrow. "Is this not true?"

"...Are you sure you're in the right major?" Zexion merely smiled at Roxas, turning back to his computer and continued his typing, fingers flying across the keyboard. Roxas sighed, shaking his head a little before looking at Demyx. "Is that true?"

"If Zexion says it is, then yeah it is. Zexion's a genius."

"I am far from being a genius. I just have a large capacity to store knowledge and I read; unlike you, my dear, who listens to old cassette tapes and records before writing up scores of music for your classes."

"Aww, he called you his 'dear'." Roxas teased while Demyx blushed, and the corner of what could be seen of Zexion's mouth twitched into what Roxas would dub a soft smile. He then shook his head, collecting a novel that he liked to read over and over whenever he had the moment to. He ran his fingers over the old cover, flipping through the worn pages that he had memorized over the years after he had gotten it from his mother; a gift she had told him his father once wanted to give him when he turned sixteen. He sighed, putting the book into his bag before looking up to see Demyx looking at him quietly, eyebrows raised as he had watched him pick up the book and hold it fondly as if it were a newborn or something. "A book my father wanted to give me, before he died." Roxas stated, shrugging a shoulder. Demyx nodded, and Zexion glanced back at them, before the three of them once again fell silent.

* * *

He walked through the large front doors of the English wing, looking around at all the other students who were walking back and forth, not even looking up as they turned into classrooms or left the building; most had their eyes glued to a page in a book, eyes moving back and forth quickly as they turned pages, almost as if they weren't even reading them. Roxas sighed tiredly, looking at a small slip of paper he had that had the classroom numbers for his classes in the order they were in, as well as the times they were at, before he walked down the hall, turning into another wing and looking at the doors, slipping inside the room he had to be in.

He looked up at the rows upon rows of desks in front of him, looking around before he found an empty row, and climbed up the stairs, slipping into a seat near the middle, setting his bag on the ground and pulling out the things he would need to keep himself organized for his first class, looking at the people as they walked into the class, looking around as they found seats with friends and acquaintances, some sitting to people they didn't even know. A young blonde girl walked into the class, looking around with startling blue eyes. She wore a plain white dress and sandals, clutching a book bag to her chest as she tried to find a seat. Her eyes met with Roxas' briefly and Roxas' eyes widened for a moment before the girl smiled and walked up the steps, stopping at the end of the row. She scooted inside of it, stopping beside him and looking at him quietly; that same tiny smile on her lips. "May I sit here?"

"Go ahead." Roxas mumbled, moving his bag out of her way as she sat down beside him, placing her own notebook and pens beside his. She then looked over at him, staring at him for a moment before holding out her hand.

"Hello. My name is Naminé." She introduced, and the name seemed to click in the back of his mind as he grasped her smaller hand, shaking it once before letting it go.

"Roxas."

"I know." Naminé smiled at him quietly, before looking to the front as the professor walked in. Roxas stared at her for a minute, before turning to look at the professor and seemed to choke on his own intake of breath as he saw him.

A large, tall man with his hands behind his back, standing in a stiff, strict attention as he gazed at his students. A broad, strong-looking jaw was set in a firm line as he looked around at all the students he would be teaching that semester, meeting their eyes. His own eyes were a dark violet, and his hair was black, in long dreadlocks that he had tied up into a ponytail near the top of his head. His had thick sideburns on his cheeks as well, and he looked like a strict, maybe even unfair man; but somewhere in the back of his mind, Roxas knew that he was fairly fair with everything, a gentle man that liked rules and regulations and order, but he always made room for improvement.

"Good morning and welcome to your first day back from summer." He spoke loud and clear from the platform at the bottom of the class in front of the chalkboard beside the overhead, looking at them carefully. "My name is Xaldin, but I would prefer it if you called me Professor." He looked up, eyes catching Roxas' for a moment, and Roxas thought he saw his eyes widen for a moment before they tore away from his blue gaze. "We will be learning the history of writing, story-telling and the origin of the English language throughout the semester. If any of you ever have any questions on the curriculum, just tell me and I will answer to the best of my capabilities."

He paused, having been pacing as he spoke, before looking at them again. "Now, before we begin, I would appreciate if we all went through with introductions now, so that there will be no need for any sort of talking and so I may start learning your names." There was a shuffle and murmur and he nodded. "We'll start with you, young man who seems incapable of shutting his mouth."

A blonde boy blinked, blue eyes wide before he grinned sheepishly, standing up. "Tidus, Professor." Xaldin nodded, and the introductions went from there, girls and boys alike standing and saying their names politely to the professor. It reached Naminé who stood and said her name softly, sitting down and finally came to Roxas, who stood.

"Roxas, sir." He said, and Xaldin nodded, watching him for a moment before they continued with introductions.

* * *

Roxas exited his class, watching as his classmates walked past him in a hurry towards lunch, all of them talking about something or another, before he sighed and walked out into the courtyard, catching sight of a familiar head of red talking to the small female he had met a few weeks ago, both of them seemingly arguing before Larxene slapped Axel and stormed off. She caught sight of him, her cheeks colouring before she swished away from him surprisingly fast. He blinked, watching her leave before he walked over to a frustrated looking Axel, looking at him curiously. "You alright?"

"Huh?" He looked down to see Roxas standing in front of him, his bag slung onto his shoulder as he looked up at him curiously; wearing a long sleeved white shirt with black lining the cuffs of the sleeves, the collar and the hem, a pair of black jeans on his hips and legs, sneakers on his feet. He smirked a little, reaching out and ruffling his blonde spikes for a moment before he nodded. "I'm fine, kiddo."

"Didn't look like it a moment ago." Roxas said disbelievingly, ignoring the fact he had just treated him like a child. "What were you and Larxene 'heatedly discussing'?" He asked, raising an eyebrow as he crossed his arms. Axel stared at him, before he sighed and flopped to sit cross-legged on the ground, hands on his knees before he reached in his back pocket for a smoke and a lighter, popping a cigarette into his mouth and lighting it, taking a drag and letting it out slowly; the grey smoke circling around him before it faded and he looked up at Roxas who had turned his head slightly from the smell of burning nicotine.

"Larxene and I...We're good friends I guess." He said, looking to the side. "She knows I'm a fag," Roxas winced at the choice of wording. "but she doesn't care about that, right? She just thinks I'm attractive. So we've been...Uhh..."

"Let's put it bluntly, shall we?" Marluxia said from behind them, coming from nowhere, placing a hand on Roxas' shoulder and the blonde looked at the man curiously. "They've been physical friends." Roxas' eyes widened before he nodded, looking to the side. "She grew a little attached, though...And Axel just told her they had to quit it."

"Why's that?" Roxas mumbled, not even meeting the redhead's imploring gaze. Marluxia leaned forward, mouth next to his ear as he breathed the answer softly.

"He's found the one that truly mattered to him." Marluxia then pulled back from him, smirking at Axel who shot him a pathetic excuse for a grateful glare, before he left without a word. Axel then reached up; tugging on Roxas' hand and the blonde fell to his knees, shocked beyond measure. His chin was lifted then, and he met Axel's green gaze as he smiled a little, shrugging a shoulder helplessly.

"Should I explain?" He said softly, and Roxas shook his head, looking to the ground as he fisted his hands in his lap, knuckles white. "Do you know already, then?"

"I have...A general picture." He said softly, looking at him quietly. "'We may have no hearts, but we have each other and you make me feel complete.'" Axel looked at him softly, nodding before he pulled the blonde to him, arms wrapped around him as Roxas closed his eyes, resting his ear against his chest and for the first time since they had met, he heard his heart beating.

* * *

Roxas was walking down to his Introduction to Mythology when he accidentally bumped into something. Falling backwards, he thought he was just going to fall foolishly like he had when he bumped into Axel, but like a replay of that night his arm was caught in a firm grip, except he was held at that awkward angle until he fixed himself and looked down to see if he had dropped anything when a strangely familiar voice spoke to him.

"Dude, watch where you're going, yeah?" It was a 'surfer' accent, and he looked up to see a grinning face, a yellow eye looking down at him, the other covered by an eye patch that seemed to be there for medical purposes. His hair was long and black, streaked with silver, and he was long and gangly, sort of like Axel's body type except a little thicker than Axel himself. He was looking at Roxas curiously, shaking his head before smirking. "Hey little man."

"Xigbar." Roxas said simply, and Xigbar nodded as he was named. "Freeshooter. What are you doing here?"

"I'm a teacher! I teach." He rolled his eye. "Duh."

"What do you teach?" Xigbar blinked, looking up in thought before snapping, smirking.

"Chem. I tried to teach rocket science...But they didn't have that option." He shrugged a shoulder. "Eh. So what's up, little man? I'm guessing you know everything since you know my name."

"No. It just came to me." Roxas took his arm from Xigbar's grasp. "I'll see you for my chem. class later."

"Sweet, I got you in a class of mine? That's narly."

"...You and your surfer complex." Xigbar simply laughed, waving as he walked away from him, going towards the Science wing. Roxas sighed, shaking his head a little before he continued on his way.

* * *

Roxas sat on Axel and Demyx's couch a week later on the weekend, typing on his laptop as he wrote up a report for Xaldin, looking at the questions Xigbar had assigned them before sighing a little, looking up as Axel came from the balcony, some residue smoke from his light following him as he walked inside, closing the door and plopping himself on the couch next to Roxas, looking at what he had on his screen before he sighed, leaning his back against his shoulder. "Homework? On the weekend? During the second week of school?"

"It happens, Axel." Roxas said sarcastically, shaking his head as he smirked and finished off his report. "They're just questions and small projects that the professors assigned us to see how well we'll do and an average mark based off of our work."

"And seeing the complicated wording, sentence structures and such from your written report, and the scribbles, corrections and formulas for chem. means that you'll be a genius like your stepbrother?"

"He's not a genius, Axel. He just has a large capacity for knowledge and likes to read; unlike you, who studies the workings of the mind and symptoms for disorders, writing reports almost every other day."

"...You're quoting." Roxas smirked again and Axel sighed, shaking his head and closing his eyes before reaching up and closing his laptop quietly.

"And what do you think you're doing?"

"Distracting you." Axel smirked, and Roxas sighed, shaking his head a little as he shoved him off of his shoulder, opening his laptop again and editing it quickly, sweeping it before he sent it to Demyx's printer. "Are you done yet?" Roxas glanced at him, sighing and smiling before he snapped his chem. book with his homework and closed his laptop after turning it off when the print job was done, putting them away. "I'll take that as a yes!"

"Yes, I'm done." Roxas stated, walking to the printer and collecting his report, reading it over and checking for any sort of mistake, before he put it into his bag. "Your on-campus residence is better than your summer residence."

"I would hope so. We lived in a crap house in the summer. This is a high quality dormitory." Roxas nodded, putting his bag by the door and walking back to the couch, falling onto it, head resting on his lap. He closed his eyes as Axel ran his fingers through his hair quietly, looking at his relaxed face with a smile. "Any new dreams?"

"A fatherly figure we called Freeshooter and a stern yet caring man called Whirlwind Lancer teaching me how to guard. A young girl with a drawing pad looking at me with regret before the world blacked out" Axel nodded, smirking slightly before shoving at Roxas' head and the blonde sat up obligingly, looking at him as he stood up, stretching out his back before looking at him. "What are you doing?"

"Kicking you out. Zexion told you five thirty, right?" He pointed to the clock and it was quarter after five. Roxas' eyes widened and he swore, lunging up and grabbing his bag. Axel caught his arm before he flew out the door, pressing his lips against his before looking at him quietly. "I'll drive you."

"Thank you."

* * *

Zexion parked into the parking lot, and Roxas got out quickly, seeing Axel pull into the space beside them. He pulled off his helmet, reaching out and wrapping an arm around Roxas before the blonde pulled away and he got off, looking around as Demyx pulled in beside him in his own car. "Alright, we're all here and accounted for?"

"Seems like it to me." Demyx said as he got out of his car, looking over at Zexion and waving at him. "I guess it's time for Roxy here to meet number I, eh?" Roxas looked at them, raising an eyebrow curiously. "The last person you've gotta meet. It's Superior."

"I've only ever seen faded images of him." Roxas said, following the three older males as they made their way into the main building of the university, Axel waving to a few students as they passed and Zexion nodding to a few professors, Demyx calling to a professor that his piece was done and he had a tape of it for him to listen to. "Isn't he the dean?" Demyx nodded, grinning a little. Roxas' eyes widened. "Then he's the main guy of the school..."

"He always liked a position of power, Mansex." Axel said fondly, and Roxas looked at him weirdly. The redhead just grinned, shaking his head as they knocked thrice on a mahogany door before opening it. "And hello Dean!"

"Axel," a deep, commanding voice spoke, and a large chair swivelled around like a cliché bad-guy to show a man who seemed to be only a few inches taller than Axel, with a muscular build. He wore a suit, like all professors did, and his hair was shoulder length and silver, his eyes a deep gold. He had tanned skin, and he seemed to hold an air about him that told people to listen to him. "You said there was someone I should meet?"

"Yeah. XIII." Xemnas' eyes widened, and he turned to look at Roxas who seemed almost dwarfed by the three taller males. He looked over at Xemnas, and his eyes widened a little as their eyes met, before his eyes lowered. "Aw, he's acting just like he used to! Memories are clicking together."

"I'm insane..." Roxas mumbled under his breath, and Axel shrugged as Xemnas stood, walking around his desk to assess Roxas, looking at him carefully. The blonde fidgeted, before he felt a hand on his shoulder and he looked up to see Xemnas staring down at him.

"Welcome back, Key of Destiny."


End file.
